The Mountain Temple
High in the mountains Yuya woke with a shiver and looked to see if there were enough coals to restart the fire. Blinking blearily in the dim morning light it took her a moment to realize that there was a man sitting across from her looking into the faint embers with a blankly detached expression.
"Embers... are pretty, huh?" the stranger said, his voice impassive.
"Kyo!" Yuya yelled, jumping back and grabbing a knife.
Kyo's sword was drawn before his eyes were open. Without changing his expression in the slightest the man sitting across from them stopped the blade a hair from his neck. Yuya blinked. She hadn't even seen him draw his sword. It was as if it had materialized in his hand.
"If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead," the man said, his voice emotionless.
Kyo's eyes flashed angrily and he struck again. Once again the young man moved too quickly for Yuya's eyes to follow. One moment he was sitting across the fire from them and the next he was behind Kyo with the blade of his sword resting against Kyo's neck.
"I will show you how weak you are, if you insist," he said, a cold glint in his eyes.
Yuya took an involuntary step backwards, the first emotion showed by this strange man was chilling. Kyo turned and struck again and the man leapt back out of the way, easily evading the blow. After casually dodging several more of Kyo's attacks the man lunged in with a ferocious cut. Not only were his movements incredibly fast, he was also surprisingly strong. Yuya watched in disbelief as the young man knocked Kyo across the clearing and followed up with a stab aimed at the heart she was certain would kill Kyo.
Kyo rolled out of the way and back to his feet, not pausing a second before jumping up to counterattack. His ferocious strike towards the man's neck was met by a lightning fast block and both men were sent skidding away from each other in a cloud of dust. When it cleared Yuya saw a familiar smile on Kyo's face, and the strange man fighting him seemed to be enjoying himself as well. Blood trickled from minor wounds, but neither was badly injured. They charged back together and exchanged another series of blows so fast Yuya couldn't follow the movement with her eyes. What she could see was that the more they fought the closer Kyo was getting to his opponent.
He got inside the other man's range and was about to strike a killing blow when the young man suddenly let loose a raging fire. Kyo raised his sword and quickly formed and released a severing wind. When the two magical attacks collided Kyo's cutting technique was overwhelmed and he was knocked backwards. Smoke rose from his kimono but his sword had taken the brunt of the attack. He glanced down at a hairline fracture in the blade with a look of irritation.
"That fire! You were the one who intervened back at the battle in the ravine!" Yuya said, stepping forward.
"How insightful," the man said blandly.
"What happened to our friends? What did your water using companion do to them?" Yuya demanded angrily.
"My brother is testing them now, to see if they are strong enough to be of use," the man said.
"Strong enough to use? What are you talking about?" Yuya said.
"You want to know?" he said ominously.
Yuya nodded impatiently and after a drawn out moment of anticipation the aura of danger disappeared and he shrugged.
"I forgot. If you want to know you should just come to the temple and ask the old man," he said blandly.
"Why should we go with you?" Kyo challenged, still looking eager to finish the fight.
"Hmmm... there was something they said would get you to come. What was it again? Oh yeah, we know where to find the man you're searching for," the man said.
"How do you know that we're searching for someone?" Yuya demanded.
"He told us you'd be coming after him when he stopped by," the man replied.
Kyo moved like lightning and his sword was suddenly at the other man's throat, but the man cocked his head to one side and looked at him without showing a hint of fear.
"What is your plan? Kill me and ask my corpse how to find him? You'll never get to the temple on your own," he said.
Anger radiated from Kyo but Yuya stepped in, her curiosity outweighing her fear and suspicion.
"Kyo, I want to see what they have to say." Yuya moved up to stand beside him so she could put a restraining hand on his arm, the steel-hard muscles nearly vibrated with tension before relaxing slightly at her touch.
The young man simply stood there, his face expressionless, until Kyo reluctantly lowered his blade with an irritated sigh. Yuya let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and smiled at the odd man.
"I'm Yuya and he's Kyo, what's your name?" Yuya said.
"Hotaru," the man said, turning to lead them up a path she hadn't even noticed.
They hiked over a high ridge and saw a lushly forested plateau stretching out before them. At the far end a beautifully constructed temple complex nestled among the mountains. Impossibly tall pagodas challenged the majesty of the peaks around them. At their base sat larger buildings of only three or four stories, but there were impressive nonetheless. The roofs were tiled in brilliant blue, while the railings on all of the balconies had been painted indigo. Wide, stone paved avenues lay between the buildings. The whole scene was unearthly in its splendor.
Descending into the forest Yuya noticed ripe fruits hanging from the branches of many of the trees. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath of the sweetly scented air and sighed in delight. The ground was soft and mossy under her feet as she moved deeper into the magical woods. They emerged from the forest into a small farming village by the time the sun was straight overhead.
The people of the village smiled and waved to them in greeting. Children gathered to point and stare at the visitors, their eyes wide with curiosity. Moving through a gate into the large temple complex Yuya's attention was drawn first to the beauty and majesty of the buildings that seemed to sprout from the mountains.
She heard a bright voice calling out a greeting and noticed a cute young girl with curly blonde hair drop the rake she had been using to run toward them with a bright smile on her face.
"Brother!" she said, flinging herself into Hotaru's arms.
Without changing his expression he caught her and swung her around, and then set her down and gave her a pat on the head. She pushed his hand away with a complaint that he would mess up her hair, then turned to Yuya and Kyo.
"My name is Antera! We hardly ever get visitors here!" she said with an excited smile.
Yuya leaned down to say hello, charmed by how adorable the girl was and surprised that she showed no sign of fear toward Kyo. Kyo frowned, unimpressed, and she pouted at him. When that didn't get the reaction she wanted she glared and seemingly decided to ignore him. She took Yuya by the hand and offered to guide her the rest of the way, turning away from Kyo with a flip of her hair.
A priest with a youthful face but snow white hair and an aura of power about him stood waiting at the stairs of the largest building. He watched them approach with a weighing look in his eyes, and Yuya was surprised that he seemed as interested in her as he was in Kyo.
"Welcome to the home of those who serve the Goddess of Prophesy. We have been waiting for you," he said.
"Where is Muramasa?" Kyo asked.
"You will learn that after completing several tasks we require of you," the priest replied, seemingly unperturbed by Kyo's rudeness.
"Screw your tasks, I've had enough of these games. Tell me where he is now," Kyo growled angrily.
"Muramasa was correct about your obstinacy, but you will not find him until you agree to our demands," the priest remained steadfast.
Kyo's crimson eyes flared angrily and he drew his sword and attacked the priest. The white haired man didn't move an inch or change his expression. Before Kyo's sword could reach him another priest, dressed entirely in black, appeared between them and stopped Kyo's sword by casually pinching the blade between two fingers. The man's short hair was raven black except for a shock of white in the bangs that hung over his eyes.
Kyo gritted his teeth as he tried to force his way through the man's defense, but he could not budge it an inch. Without warning he dropped into a crouch and pivoted the blade to strike at the priest's groin with the butt of the hilt. The priest easily sidestepped the blow and the cut across his ribs that followed it.
When Kyo continued the attack the priest's face showed a hint of annoyance and then he struck downwards with his bare hand. He hit the flat of Kyo's blade in the spot where the fracture had formed that morning and it shattered. As the fragments clattered to the ground the priest kicked Kyo so hard he was sent tumbling back across the courtyard. When the priest in black moved to continue his attack the white haired priest raised a hand to stop him.
"Enough Hishigi. I am in no danger," he said, and the dark priest stopped instantly.
"Forgive my over enthusiasm, Fubuki," the man who had fought Kyo said.
"You are weak, but you have the potential to be strong. Set aside your stubborn pride and accept our terms and training. Do so and not only will you be set on the path to achieving your true strength, we will give you a sword powerful enough to withstand that strength without breaking," the white haired priest named Fubuki said.
Kyo rose to his feet, his face dark with anger, but he did not speak or charge in to attack again.
"What kind of training is it?" Yuya asked, stepping forward.
"Above this temple there is a mountain peak in which resides a family of ashura, war gods whose entire existence is devoted to fighting. They were subjugated and imprisoned by our mistress when she first brought peace to this land. Kyo must face and defeat them in single combat in order to gain control over the power in his blood," Fubuki said.
"What nonsense are you babbling?" Kyo said dangerously.
"There is a raging power inside of you that you cannot yet control. Closing your eyes to the truth won't make it go away. You will not survive the road ahead if you don't learn how to harness and use your true strength," the priest said.
Kyo narrowed his eyes suspiciously and Yuya was afraid he would refuse. She stepped in, in the hopes of diffusing the tension.
"I must become stronger too, can I go along?" she asked.
"You wouldn't be able to survive facing even one of the ashura in battle," the priest said, the matter of fact tone stung but Yuya pressed on undeterred.
"Even if I don't do that training, there must be some other way for me to grow stronger while I'm here. I will do anything," she said.
"You're fine being weak. I'm strong enough for the both of us," Kyo said, Yuya shot him a quick glare but refused to rise to the bait.
"It was never our intention for you to spend your time here idly, you are to study under one of the priestesses in service to our Mistress. There is power in your blood that you need to learn to control as well, but it is not the kind that will be brought out through combat," Fubuki said.
Yuya found the idea as difficult to believe as Kyo seemed to, and gave the priest a doubtful look.
"What power? Why would the priestesses here be able to teach me about it? Why do you know so much about us?" Yuya challenged, and Fubuki smiled for the first time at the question.
"Our Mistress is the Goddess of Prophesy, there is much that we know," the priest said mysteriously.
"If you know so much, then tell us! What power are you talking about? Where is Muramasa? Why has he been meddling in our lives? Why are you willing to help us grow stronger?" Yuya asked, angry and frustrated.
"I have told you all that I can for now, you must learn the answers to those questions on your own. If you wish to continue forward you will accept our terms, otherwise you will die here," Fubuki said, his voice growing hard.
Confusion and dissatisfaction filled Yuya as she frowned up at the enigmatic priest. Kyo glared at him with contempt, not showing a hint of willingness to go along with their scheme.
"I would be happy to fight you until you are willing to admit your weakness," Hishigi said, giving off an aura of menace without changing his expression or moving.
Kyo looked ready to take him up on his offer until his attention was drawn to a pair of women descending from one of the temples above. Yuya's breath caught when she saw them. Both were dressed in beautiful flowing purple robes. One had straight black hair and dark eyes while the other had wavy black hair and emerald green eyes. Both radiated a sense of nobility and dignity.
"These two are high priestesses in service to the Goddess and they have been asked to guide you through your lessons. Please follow them," Fubuki said.
In spite of her earlier hesitation Yuya felt herself moving automatically, drawn to the green eyed woman by a powerful feeling of nostalgia. Kyo resisted for a long moment before walking towards the dark eyed woman who watched him with a calm serenity that was extremely rare in those who faced that crimson gaze.
The priestess smiled kindly at Yuya as she approached, then turned and began walking up a winding staircase. As Yuya followed she realized that Kyo was being led up a different staircase but spared him only a glance before her eyes were drawn back to the beautiful woman in front of her. Her curiosity outweighed any sense of caution or fear.
Kyo watched the girl following the priestess like a puppy for a moment before turning his eyes on the woman who was supposed to guide him to his training. Something about her called to him and he was instinctively suspicious of the feeling. He took stock of the number of fighters surrounding him and knew that getting out of the place unarmed would be nearly impossible without leaving the girl. In spite of his reluctance he chose to see what these religious types had in store for him.
The path the woman led him up was steep and treacherous, carved into sheer cliffs with a deadly drop on one side. They hiked until the air was thin and the rest of the temple complex could be seen below. Turning a corner revealed a small plateau. A thin waterfall fell from the heights above to feed a clear blue pond with a single, gnarled tree next to it.
The priestess knelt by the pond and instructed Kyo to purify himself in preparation for the training ceremony. He found himself obeying automatically and felt a brief surge of anger. He rounded on her and the woman met his gaze coolly, merely waiting for him to do as he was told. Stripping off his kimono and hakama he stepped into the icy water and strode to the waterfall. He let the rush of water envelop him and stood motionless for a while. As his skin began to turn numb from the cold he felt a calm steal over him. His simmering anger cooled and was replaced by icy determination.
When he stepped, dripping, from the pond the woman handed him a towel and clean clothing. Once he was dressed she pointed to a path that led from the plateau upwards, not saying a word. Kyo narrowed his eyes, keenly aware of his lack of a sword, and headed up the path. It led around a bend to a smaller plateau that had the entrance to a cave in it. The dark opening emitted an ominous feeling but he headed in without hesitation.
As the light began to fade he noticed a dim glow ahead, enough to guide the way to a cavern that was lit by torches. In the flickering light he made out the form of a man, a tall, hulking figure who stood above him on a ledge.
"Who dares enter my prison? Lament your fate, mortal, for today you shall die by my hands." The shadowed figure's voice boomed and echoed in the confines of the cave.
"Come down here so I can finish you off and get this over with," Kyo replied impatiently.
The ashura looked offended as he leaped from his perch. Sensing danger Kyo moved back and the punch aimed at his face missed by a hair. It was followed by a sequence of punches to the body. Kyo put his guard up but was still knocked across the room into the stone wall. Sensing the man charging he set his feet and swung at him, feeling the punch connect before he even saw his target.
"Not bad, it's been one hundred years since they've sent someone capable of touching me. You might provide a little relief from the boredom," the ashura said with a smile.
Kyo sensed the next punch coming and used a hand to guide it past his face, moving just slightly to the side and then going on the attack. He punched the man in his undefended belly but felt him moving back as it connected, an instant later a foot drove in his side with tremendous power.
Kyo coughed painfully as he tried to regain his breath, knowing that the next attack would be coming any second. He felt a hand grab his hair and pull his head up. He gritted his teeth and glared into the face of the man standing over him.
"Is that all? Can't you entertain me a little more? You don't smell like a normal human. Why don't you use some of that power you're hiding to make this more interesting?" he said.
Rage suddenly boiled inside of Kyo, a familiar anger that had gotten him through every brush with death in his life. He reached up and grabbed the hand on his hair and twisted, taking the man by surprise and putting him off balance so he could grab him by the belt and throw him to the ground.
Once he was free Kyo instinctively suppressed the berserk fury he felt, as he had done every time it surfaced; ever since that night. The ashura looked up at him and frowned in disappointment.
"Why are you holding it back? If you don't make use of that power you're going to die here. Come on, entertain me more," he said, standing and rushing in to attack again.
Kyo did his best to fight while keeping a tight rein on his wrath, still wary of the immense pain it had caused in the past. The ashura was relentless, in both his attacks and his taunts, pummeling Kyo while at the same time insulting him for being afraid of his own strength. Finally, Kyo let go of his hesitation. Feeling death closing in on him he released his hold on the berserk anger and let it consume him.
Strength bloomed in him and instead of pushing it back down he stoked that rage, drawing on it to power every punch and kick. The god he fought laughed in delight and Kyo felt himself mirroring that joy. He was able to fight with a freedom he had never felt before. Free of eyes watching or people to worry about he threw himself into the battle with this god of war.
On the night of the blood moon when he had gone berserk a part of him was aware of his actions and horrified by them. This time there were no innocents to kill, only the ashura who stood in his way, and Kyo allowed his blood to rage unrestrained as he fought. Finally he saw the opening he needed and threw the man head first into a rock, not wasting a second to leap on his back, grab his hair, and hold his neck at an angle close to breaking.
"Yield or die," he growled.
At first he thought the strange sound coming from the ashura was sobbing, but then he realized it was laughing.
"Yield, I yield. Don't snap my head off, please," the god of war said.
Kyo let go and stood, his whole body hot with the flush of battle and emotion. The god rolled onto his back and looked up at Kyo with a sardonic smile.
"That was the most fun I've had in centuries. I thought they weren't making humans strong enough to challenge us anymore. But you aren't really human, are you? Not fully, at least. You've the smell of a god about you," he said.
Kyo frowned down at him, wondering if this was some sort of trick to get him off guard.
"Cat got your tongue? Oh well, you don't have to stay and chat if you don't want to. You passed the first test. Your reward will be waiting for you at the mouth of the cave," the god said, and then he disappeared and reappeared on the ledge where Kyo had first seen him.
All signs of their fight were gone, not just from the body of the god but from the cavern as well, as if it had never happened. Only his own pain and blood stood as proof of the confrontation. Kyo left the cave, noticing a knife sitting at the entrance with a note to use it in his next battle. He frowned at the short blade in displeasure, irritated that they expected him to fight with such an inadequate weapon.
With a sigh he walked down the road, noticing the scent of wood smoke and cooking as he did so. The familiar aroma reminded him of the girl and he tried to push her from his mind. Rounding the corner he saw the priestess waiting for him. She quietly forbade him from touching his meal until he washed all the blood and dirt off and he grumpily complied.
After he had finished eating she provided a bottle of sake that had the familiar taste of home to it. He savored it until sleep took him unwillingly into its embrace.
Yuya frowned down at the bowl in her lap, trying to understand what the priestess meant by visualizing her will entering the water and warming it up. Seeing her confusion the priestess sat back thoughtfully.
"Perhaps it would be helpful to try to recreate the state of mind you had when you've done it before," the priestess said.
"What do you mean? I've never done anything like this before," Yuya said.
"Not consciously, but you have imposed your will upon the world in small ways, I can sense it. Perhaps when a friend was injured, that young man who you have been traveling with, have you ever sat by his side and wished for him to get better?" the priestess asked.
Yuya sat back, remembering the time she was afraid Kyo was going to die from the cursed warrior's poison. Thinking of it made her realize he wasn't the first who she had done that with. She could still remember how fiercely she had prayed for her first patient to recover, and how surprised Kyoshiro had been by the speed of that recovery. She had come to realize over time that simply sitting by the side of a patient and hoping for them to get better often seemed to speed their healing.
"Not just him. I've had many patients recover unusually fast while I tended them. Are you saying that I actually willed them to get better?" Yuya asked.
"Exactly, you have the power to impose your will upon the world around you. The more you practice with that power, the stronger it will become. Now, pretend that the bowl full of water is your friend and he's freezing to death. Will him to warm up," the priestess said.
Yuya looked down at the surface of the water, catching her own reflection in it and seeing the doubt in her eyes. It seemed like a silly thing to do but she would try. Closing her eyes she remembered how frightened she was when she felt the icy cold chill of Kyo's skin the time he had been poisoned, how desperately she wanted him to warm up and open his eyes again. When she opened her eyes she could see that the water was slightly agitated, and the priestess reached out to dip a finger into it.
"That's a good start. It seems like that young man is very important to you," the priestess said with a smile.
"Kyo? No way! I'm just using him to get what I want," Yuya protested, feeling her cheeks heat.
The priestess laughed musically and Yuya felt her face flushing a deeper shade of red, but when the woman smiled at her she felt her anger melting away. For some reason she couldn't be mad at this mysterious priestess. Just looking at that slightly sad smile put her off balance every time.
"Well, if you only mean to use him for your ends then using him as your motivation to master this exercise shouldn't be a problem. Now, close your eyes and continue," she said.
Yuya sighed, looking down at the bowl in her lap with a frown. Feeling strangely reluctant she closed her eyes and adjusted her hands on the sides of the bowl, dwelling on the events of that night made her feel distinctly uncomfortable but she was determined to succeed in spite of it. Taking a deep breath to clear her mind she imagined that the weight of the bowl in her lap was actually Kyo's head, and he was injured, poisoned, and cold as ice.
She willed him to live, to heal, to warm up. She lost track of time as she poured her feelings into that bowl, until a sensation of discomfort brought her back to the present and she realized that the water was steaming hot.
"Wonderful!" the priestess said, clapping softly.
Yuya frowned down at the bowl in amazement. Struggling to believe that she had really heated the water that much. She looked up as the priestess rose gracefully.
"That is enough for today. You must not push yourself too hard in this type of training," she said.
"I'm okay, I can keep going." Yuya said stubbornly, but the priestess shook her head firmly.
"No. You will rest now," she said, gesturing to another priestess to take the bowl away.
Yuya's protests were ignored as the tools for her practice were put away and she was lifted to her feet and ushered out. Descending back to the larger temple courtyard she didn't see Kyo anywhere and asked when his training would be done for the day.
"He will not come down until he has finished. Once one starts on the path of the four ashura they cannot return until they succeed or die," the priestess answered.
Yuya stopped in shock, realizing that she hadn't even said goodbye to him when they parted ways. To think that he might die without her ever being able to talk to him again made her feel strangely cold. Her chest tightened and a lump rose in her throat at the thought of facing the journey ahead without him. He couldn't die in that training, he was too strong for that. He would come back and say something infuriating the way he always did. Yuya noticed the slightly amused look the priestess was giving her and shook off her worries, afraid of being teased again.
"I will meet you here tomorrow for your next lesson. Until then you may spend your time as you please. Just don't try doing any practice on your own. It could jeopardize your life," the priestess said, her voice serious.
Yuya agreed and when the priestess began to climb back up the stairs she turned to descend the rest of the way to the courtyard. When she reached the bottom of the stairs Antera ran up to greet her, asking if she would like to have dinner with her family.